November 6, 2024

Practice underway at Worlds, Coelho sets early pace

After of months of preparations & testing by manufacturer & drivers, the IFMAR 1:10 Electric Touring Car World Championships are finally underway in California with defending champion Bruno Coelho setting the early pace at Finishline RC Raceway.  With 5 rounds of practice on today’s schedule the biggest take after the opening two rounds of practice was grip, or more specifically the lack of it, the track completely different to what drivers had expected after previous visits to the track.  With the first practice round very much a systems check for drivers, issues with noise on the timing loop caused by a 7000 volt electric fence resulted in over an hour of a delay before drivers resumed with the second practice run.  With Coelho’s Xray fastest in both rounds, his 3-consecutive laps of the second practice a 33.146, it was Worlds Warm-up Race winner Akio Sobue who was closest on pace running a best time of 33.379 with Axon team-mate Hayato Ishioka completing the Top 3.  One of the favourites coming into this World Championship Schumacher’s Michal Orlowski set the fourth fastest pace ahead of Mugen’s Ronald Volker, Xray’s Alexander Hagberg and the Awesomatix of Marc Rheinard.

Continue reading here


November 6, 2024

SuperRad 1:12 LMP bodies

US competition body shell manufacturer SuperRad has released two new 1:12 LMP bodies.  The SR-06X (Turquoise colour scheme) is recommended for 13.5 and 17.5 racing while the SR-07X (Pink/Grey colour scheme) features a low-drag designed that makes it best suited to 17.5 spec racing.  Meeting ROAR, BRCA, and EFRA specs, both bodies are available in XtraSuperLite .010”, SuperLite .015” and Lite .020” polycarbonate and each includes headlight decal sheet and window mask.

View more images here


November 5, 2024

Mugen brings new MTC3 to World Championship

Mugen Seiki has brought two of its all new MTC3 1:10 Electric Touring Cars to the IFMAR World Championship which gets underway tomorrow (Wednesday) with the first day of track action.  The very close to final production prototypes will be raced by former World Champion Ronald Volker and top US racer Jacob Cruz, both drivers getting their very first feel for the car on asphalt when they joined a number of other manufacturers for a final shakedown over the weekend at the Exeter RC Speedway, that track about a one hour drive from the WC venue.  While the Japanese manufacturer is currently working on the planning of parts production for the new car, the MTC3’s designer Robert Pietsch, who has travelled out to California with Volker, says that no release date has yet been set for the car adding that from a design aspect what they are racing is very close to the final product.  Making the decision to not yet allow any detailed photograph of the cars as it looks to keep the design under wraps, speaking to Volker during today’s registration and tyre prep day here at Finishline RC Raceway here in Bakersfield, the German said the new car is a big step forward, the new design bringing the car in line with the latest design trends in the category.  Having had four bodies painted in his trademark colours for the World Championship, unfortunately we wont be seeing much of Volker’s MTC3 in his scheme as the bodies failed to arrive in time for his departure to the US.


November 5, 2024

Team Associated TC8 Prototype – Images

In a major boost for 1:10 electric touring car racing Team Associated is back, the iconic American brand bringing its all new prototype TC8 to the IFMAR ISTC World Championships here in Bakersfield, California.  Two examples of the car will be raced this week at Finishline RC Raceway by US touring car stalwart Rick Howhart and the car’s designer Kyle Klingforth.  Having been absent from the competitive Touring Car market for almost 5-years, the return to the class was first mooted last December before Klingforth was given the green light to put pen to paper and design an all new car.  With the company’s heritage firmly in racing, the unveiling of the Touring Car is an exciting time for Associated, with it widely expected to be followed by a return to 1:12.  Having their first machined and 3D printed example in March, Howhart and Klingforth have been developing the car ever since with the late decision made to highlight their return to the category by racing at the Worlds.  Previously working on the design of the RC10 B7 2WD Buggy, Klingforth said his brief for the new car was ‘create something for Associated fans’ and technically use the new trend of a steel chassis as a base.  Himself a touring car racer since 2009, he said they also wanted to create something more user friendly than a lot of the cars on the market these days.  Features of the car are a low centre of gravity design and AE’s KPI (King Pin Inclination), something Klingforth was responsible for bringing to the market while working on the B7.  Keen to highlight the cars being used at the Worlds are TC8 Prototypes, Howhart expects the final kit to come to market in late Q1 of 2025.

View TC8 Prototype Image Galley here


November 5, 2024

RugRacers Round 1 – Report

Popular British indoor touring car series Rug Racers returned for another season last weekend with racing over 3 classes with Schumacher’s Elliott Harper coming away with the Modified win.  In qualifying Bailey Graves proved his impressive pace on track by bringing the fight to the defending Rug Racers and national champion, where Graves held the TQ spot through the second and 3rd qualifiers until Harper was able to take pole in the last qualifier by one second on fastest time.  Harper was able to find the space to stretch his legs in both finals, taking the overall win while Matthieu Dambrine was able to find his way through to second in leg 1.  Leg 2 allowed everyone to find their own space easing to the top 4 finishing where they started.

Continue reading report here


November 5, 2024

Infinity IF15-2 Light Weight Alu Center Bulk Set

Infinity has released this Light Weight Aluminium Center Bulk Set for their 1:10 Nitro Onroad offerings the IF15-2 and IF15-2W.  The use of 7075-T6 material and its slim profile make it both lightweight and highly rigid.  Securely fastens the main chassis to the upper deck for more stable running on all surfaces.

Source: Creation Model [creationmodel.net]


November 4, 2024

Hotrace T-foam 1:12 tyres

Hotrace Tyres has just presented their new T-foam for 1:12 along with a new soft rim exclusively for the new foam.  After extensive testing with their leading team driver & former 1:12 World Champion Alexander Hagberg, the Italian company has developed the T-foam compound to be super good in low to medium grip conditions and also good for CRC carpets.  The T-foam compound will be available on the standard rim and their new soft rim, the soft rim is only available with the T-foam compound.

Source: Hotrace Tyres [hotracetyres.com]


November 4, 2024

Capricorn LAB GT2 Alu Shock Springs Retainer

Capricorn has released these new optional aluminium Shock Spring Retainers for their LAB GT2 1:8 GT Onroad platform.  Suitable for use on both the nitro and electric version, they are finished in the Italian manufacturer’s trade mark red anodising, and as well as giving the LAB GT2 a much cooler look, the new retainers guarantee a lighter shock weight.

Source: Capricorn [capricornrc.com]